


Learning to Dance

by InfernalPume



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 05:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11097525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfernalPume/pseuds/InfernalPume
Summary: Horus is teaching Anadori to dance





	Learning to Dance

_Left foot, right foot._

Horus is teaching Anadori to dance. It’s not a very complicated one, in fact, anyone watching would mistake the practice for physical therapy. Dee plays her guitar for them anyway, stomping her foot to accentuate the rhythm. Tiny voices call the steps one at a time as they move their legs.

 

_Right foot, left foot._

 

It was so eternally unfair that Dori was to the left, and Horus’ human hand was on his right. Dori clings to their guardian’s prosthetic hand, while Ana gets to hold the real one. It was the sort of thing that only someone who had to share her body with another could be upset about. No matter what, Dori would never be on the right side. She would only ever get to hold the metal.

 

_Left foot, right foot._

 

By appearance, it would look as though Horus leads the dance. He _is_ larger, older, and supporting the twins' weight, but this isn’t the case. It could be said that he isn't really dancing with them at all. More then anything, the girls are dancing with each other.

 

_Right foot, left foot._

 

Ana is leads. She  _always_ leads. Even back when they were perpetually confined to a stroller, their conjoinment complicating any physical task, it was always Ana whose strong hand gripped the stick they used to push themselves around. Ana who chose where they went, Ana who responded when people spoke to them, and Ana who decided who they did and didn’t like. If not for the rare snappy comment, one could assume Dori had no brain of her own at all. 

_Left foot, right foot._

Dori dances with her sister. Though her eyes are glued to Horus’ legs, she is more aware of the tugs of flesh where their necks are joined. All of her attention is on Ana, focusing on keeping them balanced. Little shifts of the hip, tilts of her ankle, bends in the knee. When the time comes for Anadori to dance on their own, it will be these small and seemingly insignificant movements that keep them upright.

 

_Right foot, left foot._

A confident smile curls across Ana’s lips. She hasn’t needed to grab the railing once since Horus let go. It’s a slow dance at first, one foot in front of the other, wrists twitching as even the smallest wobble threatens to topple them. Slowly but surely Anadori dances to the small chalk marking etched on the metal corridor. Ana reckons that they can make it to the next one, but the ship lurches and they end up on the floor.

 

Horus rushes over to help them up, but Dee stops him. The whole point of practicing on the trawler instead of a more sturdy ship is so they’ll eventually be able to dance anywhere. Without help. Steadily Anadori pulls themselves back to their feet, and try again.

 

 

Only one foot at a time, Horus reminds them from a Dee-approved distance, just one foot in front of the other.

 

_Left foot, right foot._

 

The steps get easier over the months, the movements become instinctual. Soon they don’t need the music anymore, or to call the steps. Its still very much a dance, a collaborative effort that needs to be practiced regularly, but at least the dance now fully resembles a normal walk.

 

_Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot._

 

Anadori dance up the gangplank and onto the main vessel all by themselves, like they will do for the rest of their lives.


End file.
